Luigi’s House

Clearly Luigi’s has been sold to a new owner and things have rapidly gone downhill the last several months.
While the menu is the same, the quality of food, service, and overall atmosphere of the restaurant are not. The cheeky Italian décor has been cleared up a bit and the whole place is lit much brighter, less romantic of a feel. The white table cloths have been removed. The traveling accordion player is no more. Julian’s piano bar, a once packed room full of life now sits empty.
For the past several years, the parking lot would be so full that you would have to park in Meijer’s lot on nights like Valentines day especially. Tonight it was less than half full and that should have been the first clue.
Once we got in, there was nobody waiting for a table at 6pm and we were taken to a table that had half-​eaten bread and used waters leftover. The hostess, instead of apologizing and sitting us elsewhere (one of the many empty tables), just removed the bread and left us there. I then actually had to ask the waiter to wipe off the table and bring new waters.
Our server brought out the wrong salad and drinks and when told about the mistake checked his notes in front of us as if he was questioning our intent. The food was bad and has definitely gone downhill since the last time we were there.
The fried mozzarella and cream of potato soup were pretty good, but our entrees were horrible. The chopped salad had some new, gross dressing. The chicken was ice cold and tough, totally tasted like it was bought pre-​cooked from the salad aisle. Definitely was not grilled fresh anytime in the last week. The bacon was so hard that I thought I bit into a bone and another piece stabbed my cheek. The whole salad just had a bad aftertaste.
The Caesar salad had a dressing that didn’t taste like Caesar. The chicken alfredo, while drenched in sauce, was extremely bland with very little flavor. This had the same gross chicken found in the salad. Very disappointing overall and as another reviewer noted, the portion sizes were definitely smaller as well.
I cannot believe how quickly things went sour, but that is what happens when new owners take over and change EVERYTHING that made the place good, unique, and special. There are like a dozen places on 59 to get Italian food at, so why on earth you would drive this one into the ground is beyond me.
Do yourself a favor and go anywhere else. Even Olive Garden tastes better and that tells you a lot.

I would have given them 5 but they’ve cut down on portion size as of late so your value isn’t what it used to be. They do have my favorite margharita pizza, though!

Well, the restaurant part is kinda worn out. Menu is not creative. The food is meh and not at all like the quality of Portillos. I would rather have Portillos than the food here. Service was good. Went on a Saturday evening and hardly any customers were there. That should have told us something.

Went here for dinner and I felt like it was just alright. There was nothing bad about it but it lacked something.

Yummy Italian cuisine owned by Portillos?! Located in the burbs?!
I didn’t know this place existed until I came here for a work function.
The portions are huge. I ordered the chicken parmigiana. It was enough to feed at least 2 people. A co worker ordered the chicken Marsala. Both were delicious.
You’ll walk away full and happy.

I came to Luigi’s with my family yesterday for dinner to celebrate my Grandpa’s 80^th birthday. We had a group of 12 and were seated in a back private room which was nice. I mean, the restaurant was actually not even close to full, but the little nook was still ideal. We’re a loud family of Italians so it was for the best.
On Tuesdays they have ½ off bottles of wine which is awesome. We ordered a few different bottles for the table and a few of the guys went with beer. I only drank the Malbec, but it was very tasty (then again, I haven’t found a Malbec I didn’t like). $ 12 – 14 for a (half off) bottle was a pretty sweet deal and oh did we take advantage!
The complimentary bread served was really good and we had butter and olive oil to accompany it. We did have to ask our server for some parmesan cheese though. Although there were a few times he disappeared for quite a while, overall our server was a good sport for handling such a large group of people.
I ordered the country rigatoni for dinner. This pasta dish includes Italian sausage and pancetta bacon tossed with rigatoni and wild mushrooms in a light tomato cream sauce. Such a great meal! The meat to sauce ratio was ideal and I’m definitely a fan of their Italian sausage. I highly suggest this choice if you’re looking for a great pasta dish. It’s also a really large portion. I took about half of it home.
I should warn you though that I think I had a better food experience than the rest of the table. Both my grandparents and my dad complained that their pastas were too dry. My grandparents had to ask for more marinara sauce for their baked ziti and that came out rather quickly, but my dad had to wait a while for the chef to whip up some more vodka sauce for his penne ala vodka. Apparently they didn’t have any additional sauce ready to go. Luigi’s pasta e fagioli was also not what any of us were used to. It had a creamy base instead of the usual more brothy texture.
Despite the mediocre food everyone else experience, our whole table was treated to complimentary cannolis along with a mini chocolate cake for my Grandpa. Gotta love that!
Overall an okay experience. The staff was friendly, company was perfection, and I left full of pasta and buzzing on wine.

We use to eat here alot and we loved it. Tonight we ordered by phone for pick up. I had to call back three times and asked if the meal i was ordering as per their online menu was still available. It took three calls back to finally find something their online menu said they had but did not. The lady on the phone actually said i was calling the wrong luigis??? When my partner showed up to pick up the order she was ignored over 5 minutes after checking in to pick up the order. They had two employees at the bar who just ignored her. With not one other customer at the bar. Someone finally walked and asked are the helping u? she said umm no. Our favorite two meals are no longer availa le but say they r online. The menu is old and the same and thats such a shame. It was our special occasion spot but unfortunately will no longer will be.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. It’s really sad to see how this once vibrant restaurant has lost its luster. I cannot imagine this place can hold on much longer.

Not what I expected. The food could be improved. The staff was nice and that is the only reason I give it 3 stars.

We used to go there once a month at least when it opened around ten years ago. It was one of our favorite. Last time we went was 4, 5 years ago when it was changed to different owner, the taste went down. Tonight we went again to give it a try. I have an eight person party at 5:15. I have to agree with all recent reviews and it is only 2 stars. The waiters is nowhere to find after giving everyone a cup of water. After 30 minutes we realized we hadn’t order appetizer. The service is very slow. The calamari is good. But the entries aren’t. My husband ordered macadamia chicken, it tasted reused oil, like cheap fast food restaurant. The special halibut is very dry. We won’t go back again.

My husband and I have been regulars here for years. We always get the country rigatoni. Last night it tasted totally different and not in a good way. My husband couldn’t even eat it. I asked the waiter if the recipe had changed, and he said no– there is new management and they switched from their previous vendor to gfs. Management-​if you are reading: please change back!!! The food is inferior quality and the prices are the same. If Luigi’s doesn’t switch back to the original vendor, it has lost our business.

Good, lively ambience, good food. Their menu is short and we found it a bit expensive. But overall it’s good.

We have been to Luigi’s a few times now. My wife and I love it. It is a bit more pricey than what it is worth, but isn’t everything these days? If you can manage to keep the alcoholic beverages to a minimum the bill remains tolerable.
We have had the egg plant and the ziti most recently. Both of which were very good. Luigi’s, like every other typical American restaurant, is in the habit of using an insane amount of different cheeses to cover up the lack of flavor in the actual dish. Fortunately for Luigi’s they have found a decent cheese to real flavor ratio that works!
The environment is casual. Live music resonates easily from the bar on Friday nights throughout the entire place. We enjoy the atmosphere, dim lighting. Service has been excellent every time. Staff is quick, responsive and attentive.
I recommend at least giving this place a shot. It is worth your own review.

:Dining experience
Hello, I dined in your restaurant last night and felt it necessary to share my experience with you. Took my son in to celebrate a talent show and he wanted spaghetti. Have had nice experiences in the past but won’t return after last nights dinner. Our server Leah was very slow to meet our needs. I had ordered a cocktail and when it was presented she mentioned it possibly could be incorrect. Why serve a beverage that «might» not be right? After never checking in with us after receiving our dinner my son needed a drink and I needed a drink as well. We ordered a chocolate milk and another cocktail and his ice cream because I figured it would take a long time before she returned again. When she returned we only received a cocktail and ice cream 15 min later and was immediately asked if I wanted the check. I reminded her I was still waiting another guest. When the third of my party joined he ordered again the chocolate milk along with a cocktail. She apparently didn’t recognize his well vodka diet drink because she asked what well vodka was. Now he felt embarrassed explaining what it was and asked her to just ask the bartender. She then informed us there was no bartender and she was making the drinks and didn’t really know how. When ordering his dinner he again felt belittled due to her response of «that’s all?». Regardless drink came incorrect and with the salad and chocolate milk. We wanted to get out of there and asked for the check which took another 10 min because she continued to pick up all her salts from the tables and carry on conversation with co workers. By this time I had waited long enough and stood up to put our coats on and finalize bill. When I saw the bill we were overcharged for the drink and milk. I don’t have time at this point to flag her down again and get manager involved nor embarrass anyone. I circled on the check the issues and hopefully she presented it to you to show my dissatisfaction. Not sure what I’m expecting out if this but really perturbed still and thought I should share this experience. Service was throwing company under the bus on this one. It wasn’t necessarily an intentional disregard to good service but definitely an uncomfortable situation. Seems silly reading back but it’s the overall bad taste the company I have lingering.
Thanks for reading hopefully this is of some use to the growth of your service.
Thanks for never responding back to my email.

Lots has changed since my last review. Luigi’s house has a NEW OWNER, Jim Garofalo. The sign out front still says «a Portillo concept» even though it isn’t anymore. You can tell Dick Portillo no longer owns the place because there is no more garlic and hot chilies hanging from the ceiling (a good thing).
The problem is that we stopped in for lunch today. I ordered the chicken lemone. When it came it was swimming in sauce. I moved aside the lemons and the spinach so I could see the chicken. That’s when the smell hit me. The smell was so bad it turned my stomach. My wife said that I got pale. The smell was so repulsive that we had to move the plate to an empty table nearby before I vomited.
FAIR WARNING: There are problems in the kitchen. Do not order chicken.

I’ve been by this restaurant 100 times but never thought of stopping in here! It was great! Their décor was right up my alley! It was a very large restaurant inside. Upon entering to a pitch black entryway– mood lighting or them just trying to get you inside the bar? They said it would be about a 45 minute wait and we didn’t want to sit and get totally wasted before dinner. Luigi’s is owned by Portillo’s which was quite obvious with some of their selections. I had the Country Style Rigatoni which was a very close second to Cucina Roma. Great restaurant for a group! They had a band that was warming up and sound checking for what seemed like forever. Great food!

One word: Delicious! I’ve been here on several occasions, and have been impressed every time. Double the positive vibes, because I didn’t expect it from the Portillo’s chain.
The ambiance is super neat. Dark and very intimate. My husband and I visited here for dinner and the lasagna was too die for. A large portion, and great flavor. The biggest disappointment, however, was that nothing was included! This is similar to Biaggi’s (whose food is not on par with Luigi’s House) so I suppose I get it. But if I’m paying around $ 20 for a plate of pasta, I expect soup or salad.
I was here another time about a year ago, for a rehearsal dinner. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into… I expected standard, dry mostaccioli and over-​dressed salad. Turned out I was the one that was dressed incorrectly… in too tight of a dress! I wanted to eat everything. The appetizers were great (not passed, so you could walk up and serve yourself) and the bread and pasta plates were awesome. Makes me want to return, thinking of it!

This place is great.
Great food and service. Nice place for a date, especially a first date.
The menu is great too, which is a big deal for me. I usually just have an idea that I want a certain type of food and then I’ll stare at a small menu for hours. There’s is not small and it’s something for everyone.
The Sausage Bread, Peasant Pasta, Lasagna and Baked Ziti are all amongst my favorites. But, if you want something special that you remember for a long time… Try the Macadamia Encrusted Chicken. Ask for extra sauce too. It’s so good you’ll be sad when you are done eating it.

After dozens of visits I can say that I’ve really come to love this place, despite a few hiccups. They have good appetizers, including a really good spinach dip and an awesome stuffed-​and-​rolled eggplant dish; but the thing that I’ve noticed about the meals – and this could just be me! – is that they tend to become worse or more mediocre as they become more complicated. I just recently had a chicken special because the sauce sounded great, with mushrooms and capers and pancetta – it was alright; it was screaming for some salt and seasonings (I could only give it some salt) and it was too acidic. It seems like the last few times I’ve gone I haven’t really enjoyed my meal, and I think it’s because I’ve been trying things that are a little more complex, but it’s the simple things that Luigi’s House does so well. I think they’re at their best when they have just a handful of ingredients, and so I think I’ll adjust the way I order there from now on.
The service is excellent, just one time was it merely decent, but once is just an anomaly; the atmosphere is cozy and comfortable in all the rooms, and really seems to be appropriate for any occasion. The prices, I feel, are pretty reasonable for where you are and what you’re getting, and they carry a nice selection of wines, though I think some are a little expensive. But the cherry on top, the thing that will actually keep me coming back is their strawberry short cake, which has some kind of liquor and an awesome marscapone whipped cream.

My in-​laws love this place, and we come here for dinners and even rent rooms for special occasions. The experience is always very good. The food is flavorful, and the wait staff is always attentive.
I love that they serve Portillo’s chopped salad, which is probably one of my all-​time favorite foods. On my last visit there I had that and the pasta e fagioli – unfortunately I can’t say the soup was that good. Tasted like nothing more than canned pinto beans and looked like, well, frankly, like bodily excrement.
Other than that, like I said, the food is always pretty good. I’ve had a number of pasta dishes and haven’t been disappointed. There’s always fresh bread on the table, which is a nice started. The desserts are quite tasty – had a good banana cream pie last time.
The reason I hesitate to give four stars is because this place has a very «chain”-like feel to it – the kitschy fake grapevines on the wall and stuff. It’s basically an Olive Garden. And at the same price point, there’s other Italian places in the area that I like just as much, if not more, that have a better atmosphere and more authentic, and rotating, menus.